Though a source confirms to Us Weekly that her lack of chemistry with the other judges was a key factor in her departure, Cowell tells the Associated Press his primary goal in sending Cole packing was to ease her homesickness.

“I hate seeing her hurt,” Cowell says of the 27-year-old Girls Aloud singer, with whom he judged the X Factor‘s U.K. installment. “This was a decision we made which we thought would be beneficial to her, funny enough,” Cowell added, telling the AP he now worries if he’ll be able to mend his fractured friendship with Cole. “Not many people will believe that, but that’s the truth.”

In his interview with the AP, Cowell — who assumes “full responsibility” for Cole’s exit — slammed reports that her thick Newcastle, England accent contributed to her departure.

“She was good on the American show,” Cowell said. “I personally thought she was missing her family and friends. She just looked a little bit, I wouldn’t say uncomfortable, but just not as happy as I’ve seen her on previous shows.”

Despite having taken part in a series of U.S. X Factor auditions, Cole was offered a pay raise to return to England and assume a role on her former show. “It was even to the point she’d asked if she could have my dressing room” in London, Cowell told the AP. Those U.K. contract talks stalled, however, and the deal utlimately fell through.

Attempting to stay in touch with Cole via text message, Cowell has received only one reply from the singer.

“She told me she wasn’t happy but that she also accepted it was a business decision and she wished the show well. Typically, in Cheryl form, she was disappointed but charming at the same time,” Cowell said. “I always, always would hold the door open to work with her again.”

It’s been a great week for Beyoncé’s confident, fist-pumping, female-anthem-making alter ego Sasha Fierce. She rocked three major stages to rave reviews: the “Billboard Music Awards“, “Oprah’s Farewell Spectacular,” and “American Idol.” But she’s also receiving some deserved attention for her impressive acoustic rehearsal footage.

Following the “Idol” broadcast, Beyoncé’s husband, Jay-Z, posted behind-the-scenes footage of his wife singing her new emotional ballad “1+1” in her dressing room. Accompanied by a pianist and her background singers, Beyoncé simply stands in front of a vanity mirror with her head humbly held low and eyes closed as she belts her way through the lyrics while her mother, nephew, and cousin, among others, watch in awe.

the song, Beyoncé pledges her unconditional love for someone special. “We ain’t got nothing but love, and darling you’ve got enough for both of us,” she sings.

Jay-Z, who actually videotaped the clip, stressed the uniqueness of the stripped-down run-through. “This is the dressing-room rehearsal for ‘American Idol,'” he wrote on his Life+Times website under the pseudonym Andy WarHOV. “‘NO MICROPHONE. No effects.”

Fans online are equally pleased, saying this raw performance reflects the depths of Beyoncé’s talent. “Amazing pitch! Great control over her voice. No reverb, microphone, fade-in/out, vocaline, compressor, emlodyne, autotune, logic audio or protools needed,” Denasimone commented on popular urban blog Concrete Loop, one of the first sites to post the video.

Jay-Z described Beyoncé’s “pregame” show as refreshing. “Sometimes you need perspective,” he wrote. “You’ve been right in front of greatness so often that you need to step back and see it again for the first time.”

But of course, Beyoncé’s “Idol” experience wasn’t the only cool “Idol” news to break this week. On Wednesday night, the show named its 10th winner, Scotty McCreery. Elsewhere in the latest happenings in the music world, Justin Bieber and girlfriend Selena Gomez confirmed their boyfriend-girlfriend status when they shared an on camera kiss as the 17-year-old pop singer headed to the stage to receive a Billboard Music Award. The demand for Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” album caused the servers at online retailer Amazon to crash, as eager fans rushed to take advantage of the 99-cent presale promotion. And the Grammys caught flack from music veterans Carlos Santa and Paul Simon who demanded that the respected National Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences reinstate the 30 categories it eliminated earlier this year.

Hopefully, this recap gives you the information you need to be pop culture experts at Memorial Day barbecues this weekend. Enjoy. We’ll see you back next week.

Here we are yet again. How are ya’ll? Now I know that my posts are kind of boring, so I’m asking ya’ll for any ideas of what I can blog about. (please nothing inappropriate). So. yea please post your ideas and tell me what you think about my blogs. Whatelse do I want to put. Oh! yea I’m now a senior. YAY! At last my final year of high school. Well, any this is it. I look forward to your comments and I hope ya’ll are enjoying my blogs.